I was sitting in the new TT for an hour reading the manual. I found it getting difficult to breathe. (with the door open) I went to the restroom in my home, washed my face, and my face was bright red. My eyes were burning.. and skin itchy as heck. Are these things still made with formaldehyde? I still have a headache and beer isn't making it go away!!

All new RVs off-gas. With all the new stuff from walls to floors to fabrics, you are going to have signficant fumes for a while. When we got our new MH we opened all three vents and several windows for about a week, and air it out every week. We've been out every weekend since June 1, and it still has that "new" smell. That smell is from off-gassing. It will dissipate with time, but for now don't sit in the trailer without ventilation.BTW, congrats on the new camper!

eabc5454 wrote:All new RVs off-gas. With all the new stuff from walls to floors to fabrics, you are going to have signficant fumes for a while. When we got our new MH we opened all three vents and several windows for about a week, and air it out every week. We've been out every weekend since June 1, and it still has that "new" smell. That smell is from off-gassing. It will dissipate with time, but for now don't sit in the trailer without ventilation.BTW, congrats on the new camper!ty. I would air this guy out but it seems to rain here every day in lower alabama. I wonder if there is any product out there to "Absorb this pungent awesomeness my body is ingesting!!

Some makes of campers are worse than others but when it quits raining open it up & let it "off gas & air out" .....You are probably very sensitive to the off gassing of the glues in plywood, & the chemicals used in carpets, & plastics.

My wife is hyper-sensitive to the "new" smells as she worked in a carpet store for 25 years and her system could't handle the "new" smell anymore.We bought a 3 year old Komfort and the more it is aired out the better it is. However when its closed up for the off season we have to start over. You might check with a local rental outlet and see if they have a ozone generator you can rent for 2-3 days. We used it in a new car we recently purchased and it worked well.The other issue you may experience is if your unit has heating /cooling ducts.I had to run mine on high to get the smell down to a tolerable level.I agree don't be in there without some windows open and a fan on

Reeltight1 wrote:My wife is hyper-sensitive to the "new" smells as she worked in a carpet store for 25 years and her system could't handle the "new" smell anymore.We bought a 3 year old Komfort and the more it is aired out the better it is. However when its closed up for the off season we have to start over. You might check with a local rental outlet and see if they have a ozone generator you can rent for 2-3 days. We used it in a new car we recently purchased and it worked well.The other issue you may experience is if your unit has heating /cooling ducts.I had to run mine on high to get the smell down to a tolerable level.I agree don't be in there without some windows open and a fan onIts been 5 hours since I spent 1 hour in the TT and my eyes are still on fire!! Perhaps I will check into the ozone generator. sounds pricey. lol

Allergic?? | Good Sam Community

opnspaces
Navigator II
Aug 27, 2013
I second getting vent covers. About the only time my vent ever gets closed is to run the heater at night. Otherwise it's been open for the last four years.
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hddecker
Explorer
Aug 27, 2013
geekyguru wrote:
hddecker wrote:
geekyguru wrote:
I was sitting in the new TT for an hour reading the manual. I found it getting difficult to breathe. (with the door open) I went to the restroom in my home, washed my face, and my face was bright red. My eyes were burning.. and skin itchy as heck.
Are these things still made with formaldehyde? I still have a headache and beer isn't making it go away!!

You could try a Volcanic Deodorizer. We use two of them, one in the trailer and the other in our cold room. They last about forever, you recharge them by hanging them out in the sun for a day every 6 months.

My wife usually hangs them out every 3-4 months. Before we started using them the TT would develope the stale musty air when it had been in winter shut down. Our cold room would develope the earthy smell of the old root cellars.

If you forget to recharge them your nose will remind you.

Don't know if one would be the answer for the formaldehyde, but it couldn't hurt.

We bought ours here.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10175&cat=2,42194,40727,10175

what is a cold room?

When we renoed the basement, we built a cold. It's insulated on the two interior walls only and the ceiling.

It keeps the temperature at about 55 degrees. We store our canned goods and vegetables in it, also serves as a wine cellar.

It is a great money saver, as we buy case lots and sale items. We have enough food stored that we could go several months without going shopping.
geekyguru
Explorer
Aug 23, 2013
I am just leaving the sucker open now. not the doors.. but all of the windows. Guess I will do this until i drive it in for repair.
dadmomh
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
The key word is "new". Standard equipment on all new RVs. Don't know about the heat part of getting rid of the new smell, but you can count on the furnace setting off the detector. Just open everything up, turn on the bathroom vent fan, take the detector down for a while, turn on the furnace to burn off that new smell and leave it alone. It does take time. If you're able to store it at home, all the better. You can leave the windows open without concern. There are some candles available that are supposed to eliminate odor - don't know how well they work, but might be worth a try. It will get better soon. Hang in there.
wannavolunteerF
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
have you put vent covers on your TT, so you can leave the vents open all the time. The trailer off-gassing is part of the reason I had them put on before I left the dealer. Even though my TT is almost 2 years old, I try to open it and air it once or twice a month.

My DD is quite sensitive since she was in school and moved into a brand new house. She stayed for a week in my TT while she was visiting and had no issues.
tatest
Explorer II
Aug 22, 2013
It doesn't have to be formaldehydes, you can be sensitive to a lot of different organic vapors released from the materials used to build RVs. You could fabricate the whole thing from cedar, redwood, maple, or white pine, and there will still be people with reactions to gases released from these woods.

If you are sensitive to irritant gases, I'm not sure throwing a strong oxidizing irritant like ozone into the mix would really help. Ozone is the yardstick gas for measuring how much urban pollution is going to impact at risk people.
mobeewan
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
geekyguru wrote:
74alex wrote:
If you google: remedy for off-gassing in rv you will find a wealth of information.

I found a GREAT article articulating my experience. http://www.newrver.com/formaldehydegone.shtml

I can run the furnace.. but the smoke alarm keeps going off.. any suggestion?

Not much you can do except pull the detector battery until the furnace breaks in. New furnaces may have a little oil residue on the burner chamber outer surface along with any dust or sawdust that accumulates on them during the trailer construction. The air circulates around the outside of the chamber and is heated and then blown through the heater ducts. When operated new you can smell the burning materials the first few times the furnace is run. The faint smoke can cause the detector to go off. New dust accumulation will also be burnt off the first couple times the furnace is operated seasonally.
westend
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
Crack some vents, man. At summer temps and furnace running you may do some damage with a super-elevated temperature.
geekyguru
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
Update:

Detector no longer going off with the heat running. I opened all the cabinetry in the TT. Its hot as hell in there. I will let that sucker run all night. Air it out in the morning. Who knows?
geekyguru
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
74alex wrote:
If you google: remedy for off-gassing in rv you will find a wealth of information.

I found a GREAT article articulating my experience. http://www.newrver.com/formaldehydegone.shtml

I can run the furnace.. but the smoke alarm keeps going off.. any suggestion?